U50 Smart Lock on Street gate (distance problems)

[atblue]

Background: I purchased the U50 smart lock for our outside street gate that leads up stone stairs to our house. We live in San Francisco, so this lock is meant as a deterrent on the street level.

From the street gate, the distances are:

~46’ up the stairs to the base of our house, where a studio sits. A bound M100 inside our studio under the house is the first point of contact that the U50 has with us (our main living space is one floor above this studio). An AppleTV 4K is further back in the studio, fwiw.

~10’ vertical distance above the studio and bound M100 sits our primary living residence. An AppleTV 4k, Eero router for fiber, and another M100 hub sits upstairs, too but nothing in visual distance of the gate, down on the street.

We’d like to be able to lock/unlock the front gate door when packages arrive and/or friends come over, keeping it locked at night for security when we go to bed. Right now we don’t trust things and end up walking down to “make sure”.

Our issue: we seem to be randomly/consistently “offline” from the U50 lock, for whatever reason. I think we’re just outside of Bluetooth range, so I have to go outside on the top deck level and can just barely activate the Bluetooth from the house living. I was under the impression that once bound with the M100 hub (located in the downstairs studio) I would not need to do this, but it is not working. Any thoughts on how I can get this to work?

I’m attaching a diagram of our property layout, if it helps.

Also, we have bought a separate (non-Aqara) wired doorbell solution from the front gate to our house (replacing an existing old one) because it looked to be sturdier than the G4 or G410 offering and we liked it looking less techy, but if were to buy a G4 or G410 (wired) and put it next to the lock downstairs on the street level, would that solve ‘everything’?

Thanks for any insight, all. Been a frustrating month, looking to move on from this, but I do really like what Aqara is offering and want it to be our products/system of choice along with our Home Kit (100% Apple users here).

[Raman.V]

Hi @atblue
To remotely unlock the lock without BT, you need to link the lock to the aqara hub in the aqara home app.

[Raman.V]

If you are not getting enough coverage from the hub due to the long distance, I would consider placing it closer to the castle or using the Aqara G5 pro outdoor hub camera.

[atblue]

Hi @Raman.V … thanks for thinking about it. When you say move the hub closer to the castle (hah), do you mean the downstairs m100 hub that is bound to the U50? I was keeping it closest to the gate lock where the U50 is, but moving it upstairs (just 10-12’ or so vertically from where it is) might work? I will try that.

And yeah, currently (usually) my view is not like yours …

[Raman.V]

I just took a picture from the internet, I don’t have a U50 lock, but to link the U50 to the hub you need to click in the marked area.

I use a D100 and U200 door lock.

[atblue]

Thanks for that. When I hit the gateway button to the right of the bluetooth, it says the gateway connection is abnormal. and fades back the greyed out version. I’ll try moving the hub upstairs and see if gets any better.

I did just order the G410 doorbell, that is a hub, but might run into same problems with it.

[KinseyCreateGoods]

Thank you for purchasing our product, and your diagram is exceptionally clear! If you have updated both the M100 hub and U50 lock to the latest firmware, we recommend first checking whether the connection between the M100 hub and the U50 is stable. If signal interference due to wall obstructions is the issue, we would suggest using the G5 camera as an outdoor gateway, it is Aqara’s best performing outdoor camera.

Please note that the gateway (the chime) of the G410 doorbell also requires indoor installation. If you find the signal unsatisfactory, you are welcome to return it. Additionally, you may check whether you can operate the lock remotely via Apple Home, as Apple TV typically provides a reliable connection.

[atblue]

Thanks @KinseyCreateGoods … both U50 and M100 are updated to latest firmware. I don’t think the connection is stable, as sometimes it seems to work, most of the time it doesn’t. 70% no, 30% yes.

So, yes, the chime would go upstairs where we reside, and probably present the same problems I’m now thinking.

The G5 Pro camera could work (though we weren’t in the market for any video cameras), if it can mount outside our living space upstairs, eyeing the stairs up from the street (45-50’) and provide a stable connection at all times. Then I’d return the doorbell most likely.

Apple Home works and doesn’t work roughly in the same way … if the stability from the hub isn’t there, than it seems like unlocking/locking via Home also is very hit and miss?

[KinseyCreateGoods]

It seems like the issue is due to the signal. Hopefully, the G5Pro will be helpful for you. I believe you’ll be satisfied with its night vision capability and clarity.

[atblue]

Thanks, everyone. Indeed the G5 Pro works well and solved the problem, though taping a M100 to the window upstairs that had direct visibility down to the street gate worked as well. Much cheaper. However, uglier and right in our living area upstairs, so went for the G5 (didn’t appreciate spending the money, but gained a very nice camera that points down to the gate/stairs/yard, so that was a positive).

I consider this issue resolved and once again, grateful to the combined thoughts.